The Hacker as Archetype

This concept, popularized by many authors in the latter half of the 1990's, involves looking upon the archetypes of the past, and seeing their similarities within the archetypes of today.

The Hacker in general is an easy archetype to see throughout history. The term itself, Hacker, has broad and sweeping connotations, with numerous meanings mostly contingent on the opinion of the observer. For the purposes of this node, I use the definitions present in the Jargon File.

Probably the earliest examples of the Hacker archetype are the Greek Gods Hermes and Hephestus. Hermes, with his fleet foot, and implied good humor, seems to be the SysAdmin of the Gods. He's constantly called on in myth after myth to fix a snafu here, deliver information there, and generally is charged with keeping the people of Olympus, and their worshipers, informed. Hephestus is obviously the historical descendent of the engineer. His malformed body and err...less than wonderful social skills seem to relate to the general conception of engineers avoiding societal contact. But, as with the engineer, Hephestus's great degree of skill in creation and design make him a valued part of Olympian society.

Native American beliefs portray the totem Raven as the Hacker of their culture. His speed and humor are legendary. Additionally, his humor is always used to a purpose. Unlike Coyote, who pulls pranks just for his own amusement, Raven attempts to teach the victim something from the experience. Raven, unless I am mistaken, is also credited with given the tribes a valuable piece of technology : Fire.

These are two Mythologies which I am only familiar with as a scholar. The Mythologies I am most familiar with are of course, American Mythology and Christian Mythology. Within American Mythology, the Hacker is, well, the Hacker. Kevin Mitnick, Captain Crunch, and the like provide us with our own techno-deities. Christian Mythology is conspicuously devoid of Hacker-like personas. The closest I could come up with is the little known ArchAngel Jean, who is said to be the patron of technological endeavors.